2 guys, 2 passions, 1 great Italian tour company
Siciclando Active Holidays is unlike any other Italian tour operator. The name itself implies a difference; tours that provide enjoyable activities in Italy – biking, hiking, and cooking. How better to discover Italy than by getting up close, using all of your senses, enhancing your vacation through a deeper involvement. And, who better to show you Italy’s treasures than two Italians who have lived here all of their lives.
Siciclando is the result of a dream; the dream of two guys from Sicily – Dario Carzan and Giuseppe Crino – who love the land of their birth and who love biking. In 1999, they brought those two passions together with the idea to create a bike tour company. The name reflects it; Siciclando is a combination of Sicily and the Italian word for cycling, ciclando.
Dario, co-founder of Sicilando, describes how it came about, “In June 1999 I took my bike, put four bike bags on it and took a two week trip of Sicily. I started from my hometown of Palermo and biked along the west side and then I came back along the east side. It changed my life. I loved everything that I saw and experienced; bike routes and scenery, villages and people, and a few flat tires. From this, the idea of Siciclando was born. I started with the idea of a vacation for myself and ended with the idea of my life: create an active vacation tour company!”
Carzan shared the idea with his friend, Giuseppe, a fellow bike racer. Giuseppe was interested and the planning began.
“I remember very well when we sold our first self guided trip,” explained Crino. “We arranged a special dinner with our best friends at Dario’s house and showed them all of the tour packages we were going to offer the guests. We were very excited! The next day both of us went to the airport to welcome our first guests. We went in the little, green Fiat Panda (one of the smallest city cars in Italy) that belonged to Dario’s mother. We strapped a rear rack on for the two bikes and our company began! I will never forget it!”
Today, ten years later, their excitement has not diminished. They still treat each tour and each guest as if it is the first, with great eagerness and sincerity.
The business has grown. They have an office in Palermo where they employee three guides and an office assistant. And, they no longer use the Fiat Panda to transport guests, but now have vans to transport and support their group tours.
They now offer eleven different tours of Sicily that provide biking, hiking, and cooking options. Over the years they added tours of Sardinia, El Hierro in the Canary Islands, and Matera/Basilicata region in southern Italy. In 2009 they will further expand their tour listings by partnering with other Italian tour companies to provide options in Tuscany, Umbria, Apulia, and the Amalfi Coast. Most of the tours offer both self-guided and group tour options, with some being only one or the other.
“Each guest has a different level of adventure and a unique set of needs,” explained Carzan. “We offer a variety of small tours so that we can meet guest needs. We want every guest to enjoy their adventure…whatever that means to them.”
Crino went on to explain how their tours come about. “With Siciclando, I can link my biking passion with the discovery of new places. Each tour I design for Siciclando is, first of all, a journey that I do to discover the spirit of the places, to immerse myself in its history, to meet the local people, and taste the flavors of the region. When I am satisfied with it, it becomes a Siciclando tour. I’m enthusiastic about passing this on to people who travel with me.”
Carzan added, “Siciclando is a way of life for me. I love to smell the flowers, to eat wild blackberries along the route, to enjoy an unforgettable sunset at Lipari Island and to share all of this and more with our guests! I’m in love with my country, our lifestyle and I think an “active holiday” is the perfect way to feel it! When I discovered that, using my body, cycling or hiking, I could amplify my senses… oh MAMMA MIA…, I understood I needed it and I needed to share it! Siciclando is the way.”
Download 50 Reasons to Bike in Italy [PDF].
Download Sicily by Bike Press Kit [PDF].
